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Kindle Countdown Deals

Kindle Countdown Deals is a KDP Select benefit that lets authors, no matter where you're located, run limited-time discount promotions for your books that are available onAmazon.com and Amazon.co.uk. Customers will see both the regular price and the promotional price on the book's detail page, as well as a countdown clock showing how much time is left at the promotional price. You'll also continue to earn your selected royalty rate on each sale during the promotion.

Note: If you're located in a territory not supported to purchase from Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk, you may not see your Kindle Countdown Deals promotion listed on your book's detail page as it's only available to customers who can purchase from Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk.

They're time-based. Not only does this give you more control over how long your book is discounted, but the time remaining for the promotion is visible to customers to increase excitement for the price discount.

Customers see the regular price. It's easy for customers to see the great deal they're getting, as the regular price is included on the book's detail page, right beside the promotional price.

Royalty rate is retained at lower prices. You will earn royalties based on your regular royalty rate and the promotional price. As a result, if you are using the 70% royalty option, you'll earn 70% even if the price is below $2.99. (As per the KDP Pricing Page, regular delivery costs apply.)

You can only add the promotion for listings on Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk. Titles enrolled in KDP Select on Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk are eligible for Kindle Countdown Deals if their list prices fall within these limits:

$2.99 - $24.99 (Amazon.com)

£1.99 – £15.99 (Amazon.co.uk, including VAT)

Other requirements:

Title has been enrolled in KDP Select for at least 30 days.*

Digital list price is unchanged for 30 days before or 14 days after your Kindle Countdown Deal runs.

Minimum discount is $1.00 USD on Amazon.com (£1.00 on Amazon.co.uk).

Maximum duration of a Kindle Countdown Deal is 7 days. The minimum duration is 1 hour.

Duration you choose will run as a single promotion (not split into multiple durations).

Maximum number of price increments is 5.

No free promotion has been run for title (during a KDP Select term, you can run either a free promotion or a Kindle Countdown Deal)

Kindle Countdown Deals must be scheduled 24 hours before your desired start date, as far in advance as you want. For example, to begin a promotion on January 10, you can schedule it any time before January 8.

Kindle Countdown Deals are limited to one per KDP Select term. The latest end time for your Kindle Countdown Deals promotion is 14 days before your KDP Select period ends. If you renew your book in KDP Select for another consecutive 90-day period, the latest end time for your Kindle Countdown Deal can fall on the last day of your current KDP Select period.

Note: If your book is enrolled in KDP Select, the digital format must be exclusive to Amazon during the entire enrollment period. When a book is determined not exclusive to Amazon, any scheduled Kindle Countdown Deal will be cancelled.

Customers are more likely to buy when the price is reduced. Consider a discount starting at 50% or higher. Also, make sure your cover image, product description, and Kindle book format look exactly like you want them to.

Tip: Consider signing up with Amazon Associates to earn more money while promoting your book.

To add your promotion:

Find the book you'd like to promote on your Bookshelf.

Under the Kindle eBooks Actions menu, click Promote and Advertise.

Under "Run a Price Promotion," select Kindle Countdown Deal.

Click Create a new Kindle Countdown Deal for this book.

Enter the marketplace, date and time, number of price increments, and starting price. The default marketplace is set to Amazon.com. If you want to run the promotion on Amazon.co.uk, select Amazon.co.uk from the drop-down menu.

A table will appear that lists the price increments and start times. You can make changes in the table.

When you're ready, click Add Promotion.

Once you add your promotion, it will appear on your book details page on the "KDP Select Benefits" tab.

Once a Kindle Countdown Deals promotion is scheduled, it cannot be edited or stopped within 24 hours before it begins, nor during the time while it runs. It will finish according to the schedule you originally set for it. This is to ensure a positive experience for customers, especially those who notice the promotion has started, but have not made a purchase yet.

Also, to ensure the most compelling value for buying customers, we require that books offered through Kindle Countdown Deal promotions stay at a stable price when a promotion is coming up or has recently ended. Therefore, your regular list price cannot be changed for 30 days before and 14 days after the promotion runs.

You will earn royalties based on the royalty rate you have selected and the promotional price, as described on the Pricing Page, net of refunds, bad debt, and any VAT, sales or other taxes charged to a customer or applied with respect to sales to a customer.

35% royalty plan. You will be paid 35% of the promotional list price. For example, if your book has a regular list price of $9.99, and a promotional list price of $8.99, you will earn 35% of $8.99, or $3.15.

70% royalty plan. You will be paid based on the 70% royalty plan, using the promotional list price to determine the amount. For example, if your book has a regular list price of $4.99, and one of your promotional list prices is $1.99, you will earn 70% * ($1.99 - $0.15 * file size), even if the price is below the 70% royalty minimum outlined on the Pricing Page.

To view a Kindle Countdown Deals report, go to the Reports section of your KDP dashboard, where you'll find the report type "Promotions." You'll be able to see sales performance and royalties earned at each stage of the promotion. Learn more.